


I wouldn't have known you

by ShihoMiyano



Series: Mystrade Oneshots [12]
Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Men Crying, Rain
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-07
Updated: 2020-11-07
Packaged: 2021-03-08 23:22:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,113
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27435013
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShihoMiyano/pseuds/ShihoMiyano
Summary: Assassination attempts on Mycroft over time. It doesn't really follow the BBC series timeline.
Relationships: Mycroft Holmes & Greg Lestrade, Mycroft Holmes/Greg Lestrade
Series: Mystrade Oneshots [12]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1974031
Kudos: 70





	I wouldn't have known you

**Author's Note:**

> I was listening to Iris by Goo Goo Dolls. I didn't watch the movie 'City of Angels' though and read the story behind this song and thought it kind of fits Mycroft, maybe? Anyway,  
> [Youtube Link to song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFmt2Y3nNDk)  
> [Lyrics to this song.](https://genius.com/Goo-goo-dolls-iris-lyrics)

Mycroft closed his eyes and leaned back on the wall behind him. This is it. He’s getting out of this. The government can go screw itself for all he cares. He slid down to the ground and sat there in the rain. He looked up to the police officers swarming around at the men he shot and closed his eyes again.

His bodyguards laid dead, scattered around the warehouse site. His PA was probably in some part of the Thames bobbing up and down, flowing with the tide. How many more people will die to keep him safe? Will he be confined to a secured facility instead to save on security cost after this? He felt the rain stopped yet the sound of the falling water droplets continued.

Mycroft opened his eyes to see a beautiful silver haired man with a black umbrella over him. Premature greying. A homicide detective. Recently divorced. Football player and Arsenal fan. Trying but failing to stop smoking. Wait, he's the same Detective Sergeant he met who was married and was smoking like a chimney.

"Hey, ya alright?" The angelic man kneeled down so that his face is at the same level as his. "Got shot anywhere?" he asked worriedly. Mycroft shook his head. He brought his knees towards his body and hugged them.

"Can I have the gun?"

Mycroft tightened his hold on the gun in his hand.

"We're not going to hurt you. You're safe now." The warm brown eyes showed pity and worry.

\---

The ginger showed no signs of letting go of the gun he was holding. Greg felt pity for the man. This is the second time he met this man in a similar situation. He didn't know the man's name because before Scotland Yard began any investigation into the first case, it was transferred to MI5 on site. Greg sat down on the wet floor beside the ginger.

Greg began telling menial stories about his day like how the prick, Dimmock, ended the life of the coffee maker in the office this morning to the horror of the Criminal Investigation Division in Scotland Yard and how Gregson stole his sandwich while he got distracted by his DI accidently knocked off a tall tower of investigation files on his colleague's desk.

Mycroft listened to that soothing voice talk on and on. He didn't realise he had his head on the DS's shoulder and almost drifted off to sleep with the DS's arm around his waist. He was warm and comfortable. Greg took the gun from him and it was kept in an evidence bag for processing.

"Mycroft!" A voice yelled. The owner of the voice ran towards the ginger and hugged him. Several people ran behind the man. Mycroft jolted out of his sleepy haze. He hugged the older man back and murmured, "Uncle Rudy."

Rudy thanked the DS for caring for his nephew again and they went off into the rain. The case and crime scene was MI5's after a few minutes.

\---

Another rainy day.

Greg happened to be having lunch nearby with his colleagues when the car accident happened. It was being shot at several times before the driver lost control and drove through a shop that was undergoing renovation where it hit a pillar. The biker and their passenger who shot at the car sped off when they saw uniforms' presence.

Greg and his colleagues managed to get the victims out from the wrecked car. The driver hit his head hard on the side window but no one was bleeding. A familiar ginger slumped in the back seat with a blank face while sitting sideways with his long legs out of the car.

"Mycroft was it?" Greg said gently.

Mycroft looked up. Greg offered both his hands to him. The ginger placed his hands on Greg's. Greg pulled him up and supported him to a nearby chair.

Mycroft didn't let go of Greg's hands. Greg kneeled down and kissed both of Mycroft's hands. The ginger looked so adorable with his face pink with embarrassment. Greg has a thing for gingers.

"Mr. Holmes!" A spectacled man exited a government car that just arrived and a woman followed soon after. Mycroft let go of his hands.

"Mycroft! Are you injured?" asked the woman.

"I'm fine. Shubert and Keane are not." An ambulance arrived for the driver but there were only two people in the car!

The woman looked at Mycroft sadly and said quietly, "Shubert was relieved of his duty." Mycroft looked down.

"Officer, could you help me with Mr. Holmes? We're taking him home." Greg looked at the dejected man on the chair and nodded. Once the ginger was secured in the car, he looked up to Greg with tears in his eyes.

Greg felt his heart shattered for the man but before he could say anything, the door was closed by the spectacled man and he gave his thanks to Greg. The car left the scene as quickly as it could. 

Why does he care so much for a victim whom he only ever met 3 times including today?

\---

It was again a wet day.

"Uncle Rudy! NO!"

A flash of ginger passed by him and he managed to grab on to it before the body on the floor was disturbed. The man struggled desperately to free himself from his arms.

"Mycroft! Mycroft, look at me!" Greg yelled and the man stiffened his body. "Look at me, Mycroft." Greg said gently this time.

The ginger turned and was trying his best not to cry out loud. Greg took him to another room with sofas and sat them both down. He hugged the man, letting him cry for as long as he wanted on his shoulder while Greg patted his head.

\---

"Detective Inspector Lestrade."

Greg snapped out of his thoughts and looked at the lady who called him. It was the same lady who came for Mycroft last time. Mycroft had fallen asleep.

"Yes, ma'am?" Strange. He was only informed that he is promoted to a Detective Inspector this morning. Officially, he has to wait for another 3 days to use that title. How did she know?

"I know we have removed cases related to Mycroft from Scotland Yard previously but for this case, we would need someone not related to any intelligence agency to investigate Mr. Vernett's death. I would like you to be the leading investigating officer." Greg stared at her, digesting her words.

"Forgive me for not introducing myself. I am Lady Smallwood. Assistant Director General of MI5." Lady Smallwood sat down on the armchair opposite of them.

“Ma’am, as much as I am honoured to investigate such an important case, my DCI would be a better person to lead. I was only informed I was promoted to a DI just this morning.”

“Both Rudy and Mycroft were fascinated by you and your investigative abilities. I’m sure Rudy would be glad to have you leading on his murder case.”

“Ma’am?” Greg was confused. He never had any contact with either men other than the three times Greg and Mycroft met. Rudy, only twice.

“Oops. Not something you should have been told.” Lady Smallwood covered her lips with the tips of her fingers, partly regretting the slip of tongue. “But Lestrade, please. There is no one else we can trust at the moment other than Mycroft, Edwin, and myself.” She was adamant for Greg to take on this case.

Mycroft stirred and woke up groggily. “Alicia?”

The Lady’s eyes soften. “My condolences.” Tears pooled in Mycroft’s eyes again. “DI Lestrade will be leading this case. I’m sure he will do what is required without fear or favour.”

“NO! HE WILL NOT BE INVOLVED IN THIS CASE!” Mycroft screamed all of a sudden, shocking both Lady Smallwood and Greg.

“But Mycr-”

“NO ALICIA! NO!” Mycroft hugged Greg tightly. “NO!”

“Come now, Mycroft. Lestrade is a capable man.”

“I DON’T WANT HIM TO DIE TOO!”

The only sound heard in the room was Mycroft sobbing. “No. No more death because of me.”

Greg looked at Lady Smallwood. He could see that she was also trying to maintain calm and not tear up. Greg rubbed Mycroft’s back, trying to sooth the sobbing man.

What the hell is he doing, getting involved with posh people? Mycroft is first and foremost, a victim in his case!

\---

Mycroft and Alicia compromised. Mycroft will be the liaison officer between Scotland Yard and MI5 for this case.

Greg's superiors had agreed to Lady Smallwood's request for him to lead this murder investigation. "Lestrade, don't know what you did to get connected that high up but screw this up, this could end your career." warned his DCI. Greg swallowed nervously and nodded.

\---

It was a cloudy day.

Greg stood at the back during the funeral. There were all sorts of people in attendance. Large, small, tall, short, expensive suits from Savile Row, cheap suits from thrift stores, most of them with a sombre expression, some had tears rolling down, some with hijabs, some with turbans. Security was tight around Mycroft and his family.

Mycroft was trying to keep it together while delivering his eulogy. He was closest to his uncle after all, his uncle's protégé.

\---

Mycroft nearly fainted when the first shovel of dirt was thrown onto the casket. His brother managed to catch him. Both him and Anthea, Mycroft's current PA, helped him to a chair. The only ones left were Lady Smallwood, Sir Edwin, Mycroft's parents and brother, some of their relatives from the Vernett side, PAs and agents. Greg had observed enough and approached the group.

"How are you holding up?" Greg sat beside Mycroft. Mycroft could barely hold on to his tears now.

"DI Lestrade, perhaps you could escort Mr. Holmes home?" said Lady Smallwood, taking pity on her colleague.

"Yes, ma'am. Up you come, Mr. Holmes." Greg held both of Mycroft's arms and carried him up. They walked towards the car assigned to Mycroft. Anthea sat in front and had set the privacy screen to wind up.

Mycroft sobbed into his arms.

\---

"I don't want to go home." Mycroft said as the car almost reached Mycroft's house.

"Where do you want to go?" Greg asked gently.

Mycroft shrugged and buried his face on Greg's chest. "Anywhere but here."

"Hrm." Greg's finger ran through Mycroft's soft ginger hair. "Let's go to the zoo then." Greg grinned.

Mycroft looked up and blinked. He informed the driver of their new destination and they are now on their way to the zoo.

\---

Mycroft was like a walking animal encyclopedia, sharing with Greg fun facts about the animals they saw. His eyes slowly lit up as they walked by more animals. There were hardly any visitors as it was a weekday.

Mycroft's bodyguards were scattered around them which Greg finds the number a bit excessive but considering what the man had gone through and the possible threat that he was the intended target of the latest assassination, Greg resigned to getting used to having constant eyes on them. Mycroft wrapped his pinky finger around Greg's. Greg intertwined their fingers after a while.

Greg got a red panda soft toy for Mycroft. "I'm not a child!" Mycroft pouted.

"Aww come on, it's a smart little one and has the same fur colour as your hair and you are both adorable." Mycroft blushed and hid his face behind the toy. Greg laughed. Glad to be able to cheer up Mycroft, even if momentarily.

\---

It was dark when they were done with the zoo. They went to dinner and then it was time to go home.

"Mycroft." Greg kissed his cheek. "Get some sleep tonight, okay? I'll see you tomorrow in Scotland Yard."

Mycroft nodded and shyly kissed Greg on his cheek too. Greg smiled and exited the car.

He concluded that he had fallen in love at first sight with the ginger, years back.

\---

Over the next few days, while Greg was still unable to pinpoint Mycroft's exact role in the intelligence agencies, he heard enough snippets to conclude that Mycroft was some sort of a genius consultant who could link different types of data he has or given and make strategic suggestions with them for whomever it is at the other end of the telephone line and often sounded casually spoken as if it was the weather.

Lady Smallwood had arranged for his Security Clearance level to be upgraded to level 4. The interview process was a pain but it was worth going through it to be around Mycroft as much as possible. It was also for the sake of Mycroft's sanity so that he would be able to almost freely converse with another person who are not government officials or intelligence agents. Greg would, of course, leave the man in his office with the door closed sometimes when he was consulted by one agency or another by going for coffee breaks.

Mycroft was a bit awkward around his team but he slowly got used to the friendly atmosphere and even managed to have a discussion with Gregson on chocolate chip cookies and the best places to buy them.

Greg and his team managed to identify one of the assassins operating a B&B just outside of London. From the information they gathered, the group consisted of 4 people from different countries. MI6 managed to identify the other 3 for them.

In order to lure them, MI5 created an identity where it was used to contact the assassins to order a hit on another fictional character. Mycroft was scarily brilliant in acting them out when required for both roles. The minor government official had refused to let more people involved in this investigation.

What kind of minor government official could refuse this and that?

It did work in getting the group back on British soil. Unbeknownst to them, the group has another target who is, surprise surprise, Mycroft Holmes.

\---

They were caught in a crossfire between [SCO19](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Specialist_Firearms_Command) and the assassins. Greg and Mycroft were crawling on their bellies, trying to get to the nearest stairs. Mycroft was shot on his left arm and had a graze wound on his right thigh. There were bloodstains everywhere on him. The assassins were tasked to kidnap Mycroft and deliver him to Tbilisi.

Lady Smallwood had the foresight of instructing Anthea to fit GPS tags on to as many items Mycroft uses and owns as discreetly as possible. They managed to track down Mycroft's location thanks to the tag fitted on Mycroft's briefs. The assassins had managed to remove the rest of the tags except this one. While Greg was grateful for that, he still couldn't wrap his head around the thought of a PA having her hands on their boss's underwear.

An armed helicopter arrived and shot at the building, seemingly having an endless supply of bullets. The building was long abandoned and pieces of concrete were falling down on them. Both sides retreated but one of the assassins managed to grab Greg during the commotion.

"I'll let him go if you shoot yourself dead! What say you, Mr. Holmes?" Yellow Teeth yelled and smiled menacingly. The building is still slowly disintegrating thanks to the helicopter.

"Your choice, Mr. Holmes!" A gun pointed at the back of Greg's head. Mycroft's hand was shaking. He pointed his gun to the side of his head with his eyes cast down. Greg was yelling himself hoarse trying to persuade Mycroft to run and that he will be fine.

The floor gave way and Greg sprinted to Mycroft who was falling down. Greg managed to hug the man and twisted his body so that he would be cushioning Mycroft from the fall. "Mycroft, I love you." Greg whispered in his ear.

Mycroft screamed. Darkness and silence engulfed both men.

\---

The group of assassins were caught within 48 hours, the remaining two anyway. One was found pierced through in the building rubble, the other was found severely injured and is currently in the hospital. The other two were caught in Heathrow, impersonating a pilot and co-pilot flying to Egypt.

\---

The rain was hitting the window when he woke up. He was able to move everything. All his body parts were intact. He confirmed it visually and by moving. So far so good except for feeling like his body had turned to lead. A nurse came to check on him and rushed out to contact his doctor.

Why was he in the hospital?

\---

Mycroft stubbornly walked to Greg's room with his IV drip despite Anthea's and Alicia's protest. He had overheard the nurse informing Anthea about Greg waking up. Edwin shrugged and walked behind Mycroft, ready to catch his colleague if he fell. A guard followed behind with a wheelchair as backup. They were two floors above Greg's room.

The heavily bandaged man had not said a word since he woke up two days ago. Not even to his parents and brother. He also barely reacted to anything except hugging his red panda soft toy.

Greg's doctor was just done checking him for the day when they arrived. Before the doctor opened his mouth, Mycroft rushed into the room. Greg was sitting upright looking out of the window.

"Gregory…"

Greg turned to a teary ginger with bandages all over similar to him. He blinked. He knows this man. Why is he starting to tear up too?

"Gregory." The pretty man made his way to his side and hugged him gently. The man was rather weak too. Greg's body moved on his own as if he knew how to sooth the sobbing man in his arms. "Gregory."

"Shh… Mycroft, it's gonna be alright." Greg kissed the bandaged forehead. Oh, Mycroft. Mycroft, his pretty rose. His smart adorable red panda. How could he forget this precious man even for a moment?

Both men eventually slept together side-by-side holding hands after Sir Edwin requested for another bed added in Mycroft's room and had the Detective Inspector transferred there.

\---

The weather was nice today.

Mycroft and Greg were walking around Hyde Park, hand-in-hand after they were finally discharged from the hospital. The ever present guards were, of course, around them which Greg had learnt to ignore.

They sat down on the bench beside the lake and watched swans cleaning themselves and gliding around on water.

"I'm glad I didn't resign after the second time we met."

"Why?"

"I would have died earlier and not know you." Mycroft looked up and kissed Greg's jaw.

Mycroft had his head on Greg's shoulder and was comfortably wrapped in the man's arms. They sat there watching the lake while the sky changed colour as the sun set.


End file.
